How will I wait until February for the 3rd book? :-) ( )

Wow, was this good! Much of the depressing hopelessness that I found in Ms Hobb's previous books was totally missing. My only complaint is that some of the storyline seems unfinished and two characters were not as likable as I may have wanted, I would love more tales of anyone of the characters in these books. ( )

Volume 2 continues the journey upriver begun in book 1. The various plot threads come together with some resolved, while others - the danger posed by the Chaldeans who want to get their hands on dragon parts - continue and are further developed. The tensions between the adolescent keepers are continued and in some cases resolved, quite a lot of that aspect of the book involving Thymara's attempts to refuse to 'choose' one of the boys as a mate. Meanwhile, the dragons develop and some fortuitous occurrences - such as finding a partly submerged dragon platform which would have been part of the riverside structures of a country villa of one of the lost Elderling race and is still able to provide heat - helps to mature the dragons physically. They are now eating better, despite the difficulties their keepers and the two hunters who accompany the expedition have in finding meat and fish for them, and they are being groomed and kept clean of parasites.

A quake upriver brings disaster at one point when the parties are separated and believe others to be dead. The traitor aboard who is working for the Chaldeans also shows his hand and tries further blackmail of Captain Leftrin who dreads Alise finding out about his illegal modifications to his liveship barge Tarman, and losing respect for him. Alise's old friend Sedrick undergoes a big character arc in this volume, as a direct result of his attempt to obtain dragon parts in volume one. And the dragons at last begin to make progress into proper development and being able to fly.
Plus, as the keepers become more 'Touched' it becomes clear that such changes are really due to the proximity of dragons and their relics, such as their plundered cocoons which were used to make liveships and other artefacts, in Rain Wild society. Dragons created the Elderlings, but if the changes are not guided by a dragon, the results can be dire and life-limiting as one character starts to find out.

Again, I enjoyed the interweaving of the various plotlines, and the fact that certain minor villains got their just deserts. Some of the secrets of the characters were revealed to others as part of the growth of those characters, such as Sedrick. There is possibly a little bit too much teenage angst between Thymara, Tats and another. But the book comes to a temporary but satisfying pause in the overall series, with one goal met and the bigger challenge of making their new community work facing the characters. Therefore a solid 4 star rating from me. ( )

Book 2 of the Rain Wild Chronicles

I loved the Fool's series by Hobb and so I thought I might like these. I have listened to book 1 but forgot to blog about it. So far, each book has been over 21 hours of listening time so you need a hobby such as gardening or sewing where you can listen for long lengths of time. Fortunately, I do both.

Dragon Keeper sets the scene for the quartet where dragons hatch but are misformed and lacking in strength and so need keepers to tend them. The keepers are chosen and all set off on a long voyage to find the city of Kelsingra where dragons and elderlings lived many years ago.

The second book picks up the story along the river where they experience a tsunami after a volcano errupting and the keepers and boat people start to argue amongst themselves, mostly about who is pairing off with whom.

This book is primarily about who and how people or dragons are chosen and how they show their loyalty and love. Secrets which were built up in the first book are revealed, bringing motivations and greed into the light, sometimes with fatal conclusions and the dragons continue to get bigger and more fully developed. Although not made for water, it turns out that dragons do love heat and once they have sat on specially made heat blocks discovered along the river front, they get a shine on their scales, their colour develops and their wings strengthen. In this book we find that this journey has been essential for the well-being of the dragons and not just a quest desired by some of the humans. Vemon sacs are forming in the mouths of the dragons and some are learn to fly once they read Kelsingra.

This leaves the book set up for the next adventure which will be about discovering the city and presumably deciding whether to go back to the towns to purchase provisions and thereby alerting others to the fact that Kesingra has been discovered.

The books are long, too long and ponderous for me. Others that I have read by Hobb have also been long, I don't think she writes a short book, but these move forward inch by inch and it is too slow. I do, however, feel for some of the characters who are well-drawn: Thymara who is turning into a dragon herself with the development of her wings and Elise who is there to document the quest as a way of separating from her husband.

Not the best series but I will persist with the audiobooks from the library. ( )

Loving the more developed "alternative" character building and narrative arch! This is certainly an improvement to the previous book! ( )